Stamford Firefighters Collect and Deliver Nearly 4,500 Christmas Gifts

This past weekend, the Stamford Professional Fire Fighters concluded their 11th Annual Toy Drive. This year, the fire fighters were able to collect over 4,500 toys for children at local shelters, food banks and the Stamford Hospital.

The fire fighters spent Friday morning traveling to half a dozen fire houses and collecting over 4,000 new and unopened donated toys. Additionally, they collected 500 more toys from local Stamford business mainstay Bartlett Tree Experts.

The Stamford fire fighters received some help from administrators on the Stamford Board of Education, teachers and students from the Individuals Achieving Independence program and Backyard Humanitarian volunteers. The groups of volunteers wrapped every present by hand for delivery the next day.

On Saturday, December 17th, the fire fighters, joined by Santa Claus, loaded all the presents onto a Stamford fire truck and made a number of special deliveries the pediatric wing of the Stamford Hospital and local shelters and food banks, including: Franklin Street Shelter, Wilson Food Pantry, Family Centers on Lawn Hill Terrace and the Salvation Army.

“As fire fighters, our job is to deliver results in an emergency. For many families in need, this gift from the people of our community will make a tremendous difference this holiday season,” said Brendan Keatley, president of the Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association. “We are very thankful to all the individuals, families, local businesses and organizations that helped us once again make sure that we could make the holidays special to children who needed it most.”

The Stamford fire fighters have been able to collect over 20,000 donations since the annual drive began eleven years ago.